Katie Lafferty

White

UWRT 1104

Genre Analysis: Poetry

Genre is an extremely broad term that can be applied to many different ideas. Genre,

generally, is categorizing a piece of work based on similarities in details and subject. Poetry is a

genre of literature its own; to be classified as a poem a piece of writing needs to be somewhat

rhythmic and full of emotion. In order to analyze poetry, you must look for the key details that

make a poem a poem. Poetry comes in many different forms, but it is relatively simple to classify

them because they are so distinct from other literature pieces.

Poetry has evolved so much from the time period that it was established. The first poem

known to be created was “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” This poem was incredibly long and some

people could confuse it as a novella or a story. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” is specifically an epic

poem, this means that not only is the piece of work filled with many different emotions and

feelings but it also tells a complex and unique story. There are many different types of poetry,

from free write to haikus, but they’re all considered poetry because the immense amount of

feeling throughout them. Poems make the reader feel what is on paper, whether it be sad, happy,

or excited, the way that they are written in almost a songlike form forces the reader to come in

contact with the depths of the emotion the piece of writing is displaying. Some people argue that

“The Epic of Gilgamesh” was extremely important to the world of poetry because it introduced a

subgenre to poetry, which is the epic poem.

As time passed poetry began to become a lot more popular. In the 1500s William

Shakespeare came to light and his poetry has gained a lot of attention and is now studied in many
classes. Almost every person who has any type of academic education has heard of

Shakespeare’s Sonnets. His sonnets are now difficult to understand because of the language of

the time, but they are what could be considered the most famous poetry. Shakespeare’s sonnets

are composed of fourteen lines and a very specific rhyming pattern. This is why they are noted

under the genre of poetry and more specifically sonnets. They have a pattern to them and are

filled to the brim with emotion. Think about Shakespeare’s 8th sonnet, “Music to hear, why

hear'st thou music sadly? Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.” Shakespeare is

explaining how music brings harmony and people together. Nothing gives people more joy than

the sound of music. He rhymes the end of the lines and the words of the poem almost flow out of

the readers mouth; this is why poetry is poetry.

As time passed, poetry began to modernize. In the 1800-1900s, Robert Frost began

writing poetry. We’ve all heard of the poem “The Road Not Taken.” This poem talks about how

difficult it is to choose between things in life. You have to choose between two roads everyday in

life. People make decisions and prosper in the outcome or suffer the consequences. “Two roads

diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both, and be one traveler, long I stood.”

Poetry talks about everyday life in a way that makes you really think about everything that you

do. No one would really look at two choices and consider them as paths and look that deeply into

the decision, but this poem takes a look at the situation in a deeper and more metaphorical way.

Poetry has a way of taking life and making it a metaphor, much like this poem. The tough

decision being made is compared to two separate roads. This poem also has a rhyme scheme.

The difference between this poem and William Shakespeare’s poetry is that “The Road Not

Taken,” is easily understood and analyzed. Some poetry is a lot more difficult to comprehend.

“The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe, for example, proves to be fairly difficult to attain the true
meaning. After reading the poetry once, you may think it’s just about a bird pecking at his

window, but after further consideration the reader realized that the poem is truly about Poe’s

long lost love, Lenore, whom the bird continuously asks about. He wants to find relief from the

loss of a loved one but cannot seem to find it with this bird constantly bothering him. “But the

fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, and so faintly you came tapping, tapping

at my chamber door,” this poem has a very distinct rhyming scheme. There is a lot of repetition

and it’s really a giant metaphor comparing the nuisance of a bird to the thoughts of Lenore

clouding his mind. You can analyze some poems for days in order to find a meaning, and

through a lot of poetry you can find how it relates to you, personally. Poetry is extremely

emotional and because of that some people find it easy to apply to their life and find personal

recognition in it.

Far more recently, in the 2000s, a new poet named Rupi Kaur gained a lot of popularity,

many are familiar with her poetry book Milk and Honey. This poet has a lot of other singular

poems as well. Her poems prove to be a lot different than the other ones because they are very

short and the meaning is more bluntly stated in her words. Kaur’s poetry is considered more of a

free write, as a lot of it doesn’t follow any specific rhyming pattern or rules. Regardless of the

rules of poetry her poems express a plethora of emotions and describe her feelings throughout

life and turmoils. Kaur’s poems are easily relatable and make a lot of sense, especially to

younger generations. Rupi Kaur’s poem “You Should Have Known I Was A Fire” reads, “I will

never understand how you held me if you were afraid of warmth.” This is the whole poem; from

“The Epic of Gilgamesh,” a three hundred some pages poem, to a poem with less than 20 words.

The diversity of poetry is what makes it so interesting. Although this poem is very short it proves

a very easy read, and forces the reader to come in contact with hidden emotions. This poem may
be short but it offers all of the poet’s feelings. She writes about a man she loved and how she

doesn’t understand how he made her fall in love with him only to leave her because of his

commitment issues. Another poem of Kaur’s reads, “I thank the universe for taking away

everything it has taken and given to me everything it has given.” This poem is very similar to the

previous one. It offers a different, happier emotion but in every word the reader has the

opportunity to feel what the poet is feeling.